Sun acquires data center software start-up Terraspring

The company, which did not disclose the value of the deal other than to say it was a cash-for-stock transaction, will use Terraspring's logical server farm software to increase the virtualization capabilities of Sun's server and storage products.

Terraspring, founded in 1999 by Sun veterans, makes software that automates the deployment, management, visibility and control of heterogeneous datacenter environments. Its software works with Solaris, Linux and Windows NT operating systems.

N1 is Sun's initiative to combine separate server, network and storage devices into a single supply of resources so companies can transact business more efficiently.

Terraspring's and Sun's goals for a combined computing fabric seem to jibe. Terraspring describes its software as creating a "centrally managed, device-agnostic, flexible and repurposable set of computing resources" that is integrated with corporate IT environments.

The virtualization of the network, in which its physical resources are represented in a logical fashion, is important to Sun's N1 initiative because it breaks down the barriers between servers, network gear and storage. Earlier this year, Sun acquired a storage start-up, Pirus Networks Inc., which makes a data center virtualization switch, to boost its N1 plans.

Investors in Terraspring, a three-year-old start-up, are Mohr, Davidow Ventures and Accel Partners. The company has received more than US$54 million to date. It introduced products in June 2001.

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